Couples Retreat (Vince Vaughn, Jason Bateman, Jon Favreau, Malin Akerman, Kristin Davis, Jean Reno, Kristen Bell, Faizon Love) – As frivolous comedies go, Couples Retreat is a good one. Vince Vaughn and his friend, actor/director/writer Jon Favreau conceived of this film about sending couples on a corporate-like retreat to bond, talk about goals, and have some fun. I’ve been on those types of retreats, and they are generally a waste of time, forgotten a few weeks after you leave. But as a comedy premise, this had potential, and the movie carries it off. In truth, this was a good excuse for the actors and crew to go to Bora Bora for a few weeks. The scenery is spectacular although another of Vaughn’s friend and collaborator, Director Peter Billingsley, doesn’t show enough of it. But back to the story.
A couple, played by the omni-present and quite talented Jason Bateman and Forgetting Sarah Marshall’s Kristen Bell, are having marital problems. They see an ad for a Polynesian Mecca called Eden where couples go to have fun, rejuvenate their relationships and enjoy the fun of water sports. But it’s too expensive unless you bring friends for a 50 percent discount. So they convince their best friends to go with them – the two of them will work on their relationship while the friends have nothing but fun. But NO! That’s not the deal. You don’t have the fun without 6 a.m. counseling sessions, in this case led by a spiritual genius played by the always-wonderful Jean Reno.
This is all played for fun. It doesn’t try to get too poignant. It lets the basic plot provide the subtext for the fun to follow. But this is not a brilliant comedy by any means. It is most like Forgetting Sarah Marshall and not at all like the grunge comedies that focus on sex, drugs, and bad rock ‘n roll. In fact, this is PG-13. What’s not good about this is that the laughs are few. This film is about smiling and enjoying the actors and cinematography. So go see the movie; smile and enjoy yourself.